Must be love
by touched-but-unbroken
Summary: It hurt Harry inside to see the one he loved crying. But it hurt even more to be accused by the one he loved. Him and Hermione, as if! They were friends, sure, but go out? Nah!
1. Arriving at the Burrow

Chapter 1- Arriving at the Burrow

Harry strolled up the gravel path, smiling as he passed the sign saying 'The Burrow' on it. He got to the door and knocked on it. Nothing happened. He knocked again, louder this time. Still nothing. He could hear nor see _anyone_ in the house. He banged on the door, bringing his fists down on the wood, making lots of noise. Finally he saw a figure come down the stairs and glide towards the door.

It was Ginny.

Harry noticed with embarresment that her hair was dripping wet, and she had a towel wrapped around her waist.  
"Harry!" she exclaimed. "We wern't expecting you this early!"  
"Where is everyone?"  
"Bill, Charlie and Ron are out there playing Quidditch, Hermione and Fleur are watching them, Fred and George are at their shop, Dad and Percy are at the Ministry, and Mum's gone to Diagon Alley to get her wand fixed. I was in the shower when you came. Do you mind if I go and get changed?"

_Yes, I do mind_, Harry thought guiltily, though instead he assured her that he would be fine, and sat down at the kitchen table to wait.

Eventually he got bored of waiting, and went out to find Ron and the others. He spotted them immediately, and ran over to where Hermione was sitting.  
"Harry!" she exclaimed, her call attracting the attention of the others, who glided down to see him. She hugged him quickly, then Ron clapped him on the back, asking him how the Dursley's had been.

"I can't believe you af to put up wiv zem, 'Arry!" Fleur said angrily, swishing her long hair, making Bill, Charlie and Ron stare opened mouthed. Hermioned rolled her eyes, then beckoned for Harry to follow her back to the house.

They walked back, happily chatting. As they neared the door, Ginny came out.  
"Mum's back, Harry. She'd love to see you!"  
Harry nodded his reply, and Ginny carried on walking out to her brothers and Fleur. Harry followed her with his eyes, then turned to open the door. He stopped when he realised Hermione wasn't following. Turning around, he noticed she was grinning at him.

"You like her, Harry, don't you?" she said teasingly.  
Harry blushed deeply, and denied it, though his voice gave him away.  
"Don't tell Ron?"  
She rolled her eyes. "I won't, but he's going to find out sooner or later."

Harry gave her his thanks, then went into the kitchen. He was greeted by Mrs Weasley's warm embrace, and the smell of wonderful cooking.  
"Harry, dear, it's so good to have you back!" she exclaimed. "Look at you, you're as thin as a stick! You must be ravenous! Dinner won't be for a little while, but you can have a cauldron cake that I brought back from Diagon Alley if you wish."  
"Thanks mum!" chorused Ginny, Ron, Bill and Charlie, coming in, and each taking a cauldron cake.

Harry laughed. He had forgotten how much fun he had staying at the Burrow. He took the last cauldron cake, and sat down at the kitchen table with the others.

A/N: Sorry it's so short!


	2. Ron proves his ignorance

Chapter 2- Ron proves his ignorance

Harry stared at Ginny. She really was very beautiful. He imagined what it would feel like to hold her, to kiss her. He got rudely pulled out of his day dream by a sharp jab in his ribs from Ron.  
"Mum wants to know if you want one dumpling or two?" he said.  
"Er, one dumpling will be fine, thanks," Harry replied.

Looking up, he saw that Hermione, Bill, Charlie, Ginny, Fleur _and_ Mrs Weasely were all staring at him, smiling. When Hermione looked meaningfully towards Ginny, he realised with a jolt that he must have been staring at her. His embarresment soon went away, though, and instead a bubble of laughter made its way up his throat. Ron was still talking about food, he hadn't noticed a thing. Everyone started laughing at Ron.  
"What! What did I do? Why is everyone _laughing_?" he shouted, which only made them laugh more.

Finally the food was served and they settled down to eat, still chuckling. Ron was grumpy through out, but his bad mood could weigh down no one's spirits.

After they finished their meal, Ginny dragged Harry out into the corridor, Hermione's expectant eyes following them all the way.

"Harry, I-"  
"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean it. I don't know what I was thinking. I really didn't mean it"  
"Didn't you?"  
"No Ginny, I-"  
"Because if you didn't mean it, I wish you did"  
"Ginny? Ginny what are you on about?"  
"Isn't it obvious?"  
"Oh Ginny, I-"

His words were cut off by her lips pressing gently into his. She kissed him, and he kissed her deeply back. They stayed joined in this way for a few more minutes. Then, however, they became all too aware that they were still standing by the kitchen door, as footsteps came closer and closer.  
"Quick, come up to my room!" Ginny whispered, and they ran up the stairs and into Ginny's room just in time before they heard the kitchen door being yanked open, and Ron storming upstairs, still completely oblivious to what was going on in his sisters bedroom.

"How did you know, Ginny? Did Hermione tell you?"  
"Well, kind of. She didn't exactly _tell_ me, but I found out because of her."  
"Are you gonna elaborate on that?"  
"Well, she 'axidentally' left this book lying on the floor of our room, and when I picked up, a piece of paper fell out."  
"What was the book?"  
"Oh, I dunno, I think it was a Herbology book. Anyway, I looked at the paper, and-"  
"Go on . . ."  
"Well, it had _our_ names on it Harry, _our_ names! And then underneath there were loads of random jottings which I didn't understand, but I understood the last bit."  
"Which was . . ." Harry prompted eagerly.  
"100," Ginny replied, manner of factly. "I didn't get it at first, but when I saw you at dinner everything kind of . . . fitted."  
Harry smiled at her, and they once again began to kiss, as if they could never be seperated. Eventually, though, they decided that they should go out of Ginny's room; people would wonder what they were up too.  
"Come on, Ginny, let's go now, and hope no one is on the stairs!"  
So they left and quietly tiptoed down the stairs. As soon as they reached the bottom, Hermione stepped out of the shadows, beaming.  
"Have fun?" she asked, but they ignored her, and walked past, into the kitchen.  
Mrs Weasley looked up from peeling onions with her newly fixed wand, and smiled at them both.  
"Arthur's going to be late back from work; there have been reports of biting door knobs again. He has to sort them out tonight, so I wouldn't wait up for him."  
"Ok, mum. Need any help?" Ginny enquired.  
"Well, I know its a bit tedious, but it has to be done. The garden needs de-knoming again. Could you...?"  
"Yeah, sure, Mrs Weasley, no problem." Harry replied. "Coming, Hermione?"  
Hermione reluctantly followed them into the garden.

45 minutes later, the three of them slouched back inside, feeling worn out, but never the less they had a sense of triumph. While working, Hermione had quizzed them both about their relationship together, but they remained suspiciously silent. Although Hermione had stopped asking questions, they both knew she would start up again when they were least expecting it, trying to catch them off guard.

Just before supper, Harry took Ginny to the corner of the kitchen and told her to meet him down in the kitchen at midnight. She nodded her agreement, then they joined the others at the table, watched under the family's (apart from Ron's) approving gazes.

A/N: Again, sorry it's short. It's just getting into the swing of the story; the next chapter is longer.


	3. Midnight romance and heartbreak

Chapter 3- Midnight romance . . . and heartbreak along the way

11:45. Silence. No noise throughout the Burrow.

11:50. Not a stir. Harry lies awake in his bed thinking about Ginny.

11:55. Harry is still thinking about Ginny. Ron is snoring loudly in the bed next to his.

00:00. Harry gets out of bed, and tiptoes quietly down the stairs. There seems to be a hundred eyes peering out of every shadow. The stairs seem longer tonight. But nothing, _nothing_, could stop Harry getting to Ginny. Harry got to the bottom of the stairs, and moved towards the kitchen door. Slowly, he opened it. Tonight, the door is squeakier than usual. No one is in the kitchen. It is still, dark and empty. Harry sits down at the table to wait.

00:10. Just Harry. In the kitchen. All alone. No Ginny._ She must have fallen asleep._ Harry thought._I'll stay here a moment longer though. Just in case._

Fifteen minutes later, Harry was doubting whether Ginny really loved him.

"If she really loved me, she'd have made _sure_ she was awake!" he said into the empty room. His words echoed back at him, though they were souless and empty.

He was about to give up hope, when he saw movement on the stairs. A white-faced Ginny came down.

"Sorry I'm late, Harry. Hermione took ages to get to sleep. I didn't want her following me!"

"It's OK Ginny, all that matters is that you're here now!"

They embraced, and then Harry pulled Ginny slowly towards him. They kissed passionatly, for what seemed like an age, but could have only been five minutes. They looked deep into each others eyes.

"Do you love me, Harry?"

"What a stupid question!" he replied, kissing her again. But she pulled away.

"What's wrong? Why did you pull away?"

"I saw you and Hermione the other day! Walking back to the house, together! Real chummy, you were! And she keeps on smiling at you in a weird kind of way!"

"Ginny! You know almost better than I do that Hermione and I are just friends!"

"Oh, yeah, _sure_, that's what they all say!" she muttered. She collapsed into a chair and started crying. It hurt Harry inside to see the one he loved crying. But it hurt even more to be accused by the one he loved. Him and Hermione, as if! They were friends, sure, but go out? Nah!

Thinking that Ginny was crying because she was sorry for what she had said, Harry put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight. Ginny, on the other hand, had other ideas, and pushed him roughly away.

"Ginny, why are you acting like this? Why are you being so... well, weird? You're not your usual self, Ginny!"

Ginny got up and walked slowly over to where Harry was standing; next to the kitchen door.

"Wow, business has never been that busy before!" exclaimed Fred, after he and George apparated to the Burrow's front yard.  
"Yeah, I know, it was amazing! Those new book-boil charms went down a storm! I can't wait to tell Ron and the rest of those gits how much we earnt!" replied George.

They opened the front door, and found Harry and Ginny kissing right in front of them. Then, Ginny slapped Harry hard across the face.

"I will not go out with you if you are seeing Hermione Granger!" she screamed at him. Both of them were oblivious to the fact that Fred and George were standing in the doorway, staring opened mouthed at them.

"Careful, Harry, she's a red head!" joked George. Harry and Ginny looked shocked for a moment, then Ginny shouted:  
"Stay out of this George! This is between me and Harry. And _Hermione Granger_!" she said with venom.

"Jeeze, what's all this about, anyway? And what do _you_ care if Harry's seeing Ginny?" asked a confused Fred.

"Har-"  
"I'll fill this one Ginny. Basically, Fred, George, Ginny and I were _supposed_ to be going out! But _Ginny_ there just accused me of going out with Hermione, which is _not_ true! So, Ginny _darling_, maybe I _should_ try and hook up with Hermione! She'd certainly be more loyal than _you_ are!" and with that he stormed up the stairs, muttering to himself all the way.

Fred and George were still staring open mouthed.

"Will you _stop_ looking at me like that?" Ginny shouted, frustrated. Then she collapsed on the floor.

"Oh, what have I done? Me and my big mouth! I hate myself! I was so horrible to Harry, and I don't blame him if he won't take me back now!" she cryed, more to herself than anyone. Fred and George crouched down either side of her, and comforted her.  
"There, there, Ginny," soothed George. "You'll always have us!"  
Ginny snorted and replied:  
"Ooh, yeah. Fat lot of good _that's_ going to do! I'm going to bed."

Leaving the annoyed twins behind, she too went up the stairs.

A/N- Please read & review! I wanna know how good you thought this chapter was!


	4. Where's Harry?

A/N: OK, so this isn't the best way to start a chapter, but personally, I don't like this chapter very much. I had an idea for chapter 4, and this was the only way I could think of getting there. So sorry that it isn't very well written; the next chapter will be better, I promise. So please R&R, with constructive criticism and ways on how to improve this chapter! Thank you!

Chapter 4- Where's Harry?

In the morning, the whole family, including Ron, could sense tension between Ginny and Harry. Only Ginny, Harry, Fred and George knew what had happened, though. There was little conversation over breakfast, and neither Harry nor Ginny had got much sleep the night before, which only made things worse. Fred pulled his sister outside to talk to her.

"Can't you see, Ginny? The guy's miserable. And so are you! Why can't you just tell him your sorry and get back together?"

"Because . . ." Ginny shifted her position; she looked uncomfortable.

"Because _what,_ Ginny? Because _what_?" Fred urged her on, getting slightly annoyed.

Ginny sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'm cold, I'm going inside."

"Ginny, wai-" Fred began, but she ran away from him and back into the house.

Reluctantly, he followed her. What was Ginny's problem? What did she know that he didn't? _Girls_ he thought, rolling his eyes._ Girls! That's the answer! She won't talk to me, but she's bound to talk to Hermione!_ He ran towards the house with renewed vigour, to find Hermione and Harry and Hermione alone in the kitchen.

"Er, Hermione?" he said awkwardly.

"Yes Fred?"

"Um. Can I- can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure go ahead!"

"Um, I meant kinda privately."

Harry got up and slouched out of the room.

"Well?" Hermione said, perhaps with a little more venom than she ought to.

"Can you go talk to Ginny? There's something wrong with her and Harry."

Quickly he told her the events of the night before.

"I have a feeling Ginny knows more than she's letting on. She won't tell me. And . . . well seeing as you're a girl, I thought you might . . .?"

He left the question hanging in mid-air.

"I'll give it a try, but I'm not, making any promises, Fred!"

There was something in her voice. Something in the way she said it. Something not quite right. Fred cursed himself. Why did all girls have to hide things from him? He let the matter drop, and went to find George.

Hermione knocked nervously on Ginny's door. She could hear sobs coming from within.

"Go away, I don't want to talk!" Ginny called. Hermione opened the door.

"I said, go away! Oh. It's you. It's _you_, Hermione, the _perfect prefect_! Get lost, Hermione, you're the last person I want to see. Well, with the exception of Harry, I 'spose!"

"Ginny, we need to talk."

"Damn right we do! You stole my boyfriend!"

"Ginny calm _down_! I did _not_ steal your boyfriend. Harry and I-"

"That's enough for me to hear! If there's a 'Harry and I' in your explanation, then it's obvious that what I saw was true!"

Hermione was losing her temper now. "Ginny, shut _up_ and listen to me!" she screamed. They both fell silent. Finally Ginny broke the silence.

"Fine then. I'll listen to your side of the story." She said "but I'm not making any promises that I'll believe you!"

Hermione settled herself on the bed next to Ginny.

"The night that you saw us together- me and Harry, I mean. Harry . . . Harry had a nightmare about you-know-who again and he relived his parents, his parents . . . "

Hermione burst into tears, and Ginny immediately understood, and gave her a hug.

"I understand. I'm going to find Harry!"

Ginny went to Harry's room, but he wasn't there. She went out to the field where she and her brothers often played Quidditch. He wasn't there either. She went back to the house and searched it, from top to bottom. Strange. No one was around. Not even Hermione, whom she had just left. Where was everyone? Suddenly, Ginny heard a commotion outside. She ran to the window, and rubbed the grimy glass clean. Everyone was outside. Everyone was holding to Harry. Harry was trying to get away. Ginny gasped and raced for the stairs. She got to the bottom and ran out of the front door, searching for Harry.

"Where's Harry?" she screamed. No one responded.

"WHERE'S HARRY?" she screamed again. Again, no one replied, but George pointed a shaking hand up into the sky. Ginny slowly turned her gaze skywards, afraid of what she would find there. An ever-retreating dot was in the sky. Ginny had lost Harry. She had let Harry go. Ginny collapsed and began to cry. She cried and cried; she was totally empty. She needed Harry. She_ needed_ him! She went to bed early, but stayed awake all night, not unlike the rest of the inhabitants of the Burrow.


	5. She did WHAT?

_Author Notes- Well, here it is, a longer chapter, just as I promised! I think that this is the best chapter for this story so far. Let me know what you think! Just a note to say that this fan fic is based when Ginny and everyone else has come of age and are able to use magic, though Ginny and Harry haven't passed their apparation test yet. Latin translations can be found at the bottom._

* * *

Chapter 5 – She did WHAT?

As soon as Ginny woke up, she wished she hadn't. With only a few hours sleep, she was extremely tired and had a throbbing headache. She sat up, and the first thing she saw was a picture of her and Harry, hugging. When they saw her looking, they waved through the picture and grinned. They did not reflect Ginny's mood in the slightest. She scowled and pulled the picture off the wall. It dropped to the floor and the glass smashed. Ginny let out a sob, and picked it up carefully, avoiding the glass. To her astonishment, instead of a picture, there was writing. It said:

'Love made this picture. Lost love broke this picture, and therefore this picture cannot be repaired.'

Ginny howled in frustration. If her heart hadn't been broken before, it certainly was now. She made her decision, and rushed down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her mother was making breakfast, though she was subdued. Ginny thrust the empty picture frame into her mother's hand, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Mum, what HAPPENED? Fix it! Fix it! Bring the picture back! Bring Harry back! Well, don't just STAND there, looking at me as if I'm mad! DO SOMETHING!" Ginny shouted, letting out her bottled up frustration and sadness.

"Ginny, sit DOWN, and be quiet!" said Mrs. Weasley's stern, but soothing, voice. Ginny sat down, and stopped ranting. "Now, about the picture. Ginny, I'm terribly sorry, but there is no way that even the best witch or wizard could bring this picture back. It was the love shared between you and Harry that made this picture what it was. Now, that Harry has . . . gone, and you are heartbroken without him, the picture has vanished. There cannot be a memory of love where love no longer is." She put a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder, but Ginny pushed it off roughly, standing up and heading for the front door.

"Then there is only one thing I can, and must, do. Mum, I'm going to find Harry!" Ginny almost screamed this last line, she was so upset, and no one could console her. Mrs Weasley moved as if to stop her, then hesitated, and eventually nodded slowly.

"When a young witch such as yourself has a desire, none can get in her way and stop her, especially where love is concerned. I am not going to stop you from leaving this house, Ginny, but I offer you no more than my hope and good wishes. The quest to find love is a perilous one, and the only thing that can guide you is your heart. Good luck Ginny, I hope- no, I _know_ that you will find Harry." With that, she blew a kiss goodbye, and carried on making breakfast. Ginny stood and gaped at her mother for a few minutes, she had expected her mother to stop her from finding Harry, she had been preparing for and argument, but her mother had simply wished her luck on her quest! Ginny was astounded, but thankful.

"Well, are you going to go, or not?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly, and Ginny ran over to her and gave her a big hug, then hurried out of the door, calling back as she went:

"Tell Hermione and the others where I've gone!"

* * *

Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly, before turning to the clock on the kitchen wall. The hand with Ginny's face on it was turning to the caption marked 'ON A QUEST', which was positioned in the four o'clock position. She sighed, and finished making breakfast, before walking slowly up the stairs to give the others the news.

* * *

Ginny walked up the gravel path, smiling as she passed the sign saying 'The Burrow'. She didn't know why, but she got some strange comfort out of leaving her safe haven and going out into the world to find a boy who could be anywhere. She felt… free. Free to do what she wanted. She got to the end of the path and opened the gate, shutting it noisily behind her. Shivering, she got her wand.

"Accio broomstick!" she said, and she heard a crash as her new Nimbus 2000 broke out of the broom shed and came whizzing round the side of the house. She caught it easily and hopped on, casting an invisibility charm over her as she did so. She would have to keep redoing her invisibility charm every hour on the hour, but she was sure that she would cope.

"Timefactum!" she said to her wand, and florescent number piled out the end and formed the time in the air- 9:34. As soon as she finished the spell, and the numbers faded away, Ginny felt faintly alarmed at the prospect ahead of her. Harry could be anywhere- _anywhere_- and she didn't have a clue where to start looking. She would just have to think logically, that was all. Ginny shivered again, and longed to go back to the house for something warm to eat, and the logic that was Hermione's brain. She cast this thought aside, however, and took off from the ground, flying higher and higher until she went through the clouds.

It was immediately colder, and wetter. The small droplets of water smacked her in the face and drenched her hair and clothes. Then she broke through the top of the clouds, and whooped for joy. She had to do some thinking. She determined that Harry would fly beneath the clouds with his invisibility cloak on, so as he could see where he was going. _Well, I'm just going to have to do that too, _she decided and braced herself for the dive back down. The cold hit her harshly, water droplets biting at her face and hands. After what seemed like and age, she got out of the cloud, and performed a drying spell on herself and her clothes. Although this got rid of the wetness, it did not get rid of the cold, and Ginny had yet to perfect her warming spells. Unwilling to perform a spell that she was not accustomed to while flying, invisible, just underneath the clouds, she settled for folding her cloak more tightly around herself, and began to make a mental list of possible places for Harry to go. _He could have gone to Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Godric's Hollow, ummmmmm, I can't think! _Ginny mentally slapped herself in frustration, and decided that the best place to try first would be Diagon Alley. Wishing that she'd tried harder on her apparation test, Ginny continued to fly. Then she reminded herself that Harry hadn't passed either, so she didn't haven't that much of a setback. Well, apart from the fact that Harry had left the previous day, and he was flying on a Firebolt, while her own broomstick was a measly Nimbus 2000.

* * *

"She did WHAT?" Hermione screamed, when she was aroused from a fitful sleep by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione raised her shaking hands to tuck her messy hair behind her ears, calming down a little. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. I was just . . . shocked." Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly and said: "Don't worry about it. And try not to worry about Ginny too much, either. She'll be OK. It is the force of love that stimulates her, and as you well know, love is a great protection. Nothing will happen to Ginny or Harry while they still love each other."

Hermione nodded, and then they both heard two tiny popping noises, and, turning round, saw Fred and George, who had obviously just apparated there.

"What's up with you?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, we heard a big racket," George chipped in.

"We thought that Hermione had accidentally conjured a heard of elephants in here," Fred said, mock seriously.

"We couldn't resist coming down to join in the fun-" George stopped midway through his sentence, as both twins realised that the faces of both their mother, and Hermione, were not happy ones.

"What, Fred and I were only joking!"

"Um, mum, where's Ginny?"

"You guessed correctly, Fred. Ginny went to look for Harry."

The twins sat on the end of Ginny's vacated bed. Mrs. Weasley explained to them the love binding of Ginny and Harry, and just as she was finishing, they heard angry shouts from downstairs.

* * *

_Latin translations:_

_Timefactum- I used this word because it contains the word time, not because it translates to time. Its actual translation is frightened or alarmed, which explains why Ginny was suddenly feeling all panicky after she conjured the spell._


	6. What a minute, what?

_Author Notes: I felt kinda bad about waiting so long to post the previous chapter, so I decided to post this one as soon as I could. Review responses are located at the bottom, even though I've only had nine, lol, but it's a start! Keep on getting those reviews in! Also at the bottom, are Latin translations, resources and explanations._

* * *

Chapter 6- What a minute, what? 

The Weasleys and Hermione could hear angry footsteps stomping up the stairs, and then Ron burst into the room.

"WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE IN HERE? WHERE THE HELL IS GINNY?" everyone winced at this remark, and so Ron said: "WHY THE HELL IS EVERYONE KEEPING SECRETS FROM ME?" and with that he stomped downstairs. Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'd better go talk to him," she said.

"I'll come with you," Mrs. Weasley offered, and the two of them made for the door.

"Good luck!" the twins chorused, then apparated upstairs, and dissolved in fits of laughter.

Hermione rolled her eyes again and led the way down the stairs. They entered the kitchen, and immediately saw Ron sitting at one end of the kitchen table, clutching his knife and fork as if his life depended on it, and staring angrily out of the window. He looked briefly up to them, then down at his empty plate.

"I want to get this sorted out once and for all," he said menacingly, and then his stomach growled loudly. "Right after breakfast," he added.

Mrs. Weasley sighed and got them all breakfast. Ron cleared his plate in a few minutes, though Hermione just sat there, to depressed and worried about two of her best friends to eat a bite. Ron scraped to last of his food off his plate, then looked up expectantly.

"Well?" he asked, after neither Mrs Weasley nor Hermione made any move to fill him in. "What's going on?"

"Harry loved Ginny. Ginny loved Harry. Together they shared a magnificent bond. Harry ran away, and the tug of the bond made Ginny go after him. Please don't shout, Ron. You do my head in when you shout. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash my hair." Hermione explained icily, glaring at Ron. She scraped back her chair noisily, and stormed up the stairs. Ron sat in stunned silence, his mouth hanging open. He shut it and looked inquiringly at his mother, demanding and explanation.

"Wait a minute, what? Ginny ran away? To go to look for Harry? And you _let _her? Why? When? How? _Explain._" Of course, this was no way to speak to his mother, but she was so distressed that she overlooked it.

* * *

Ten minutes later, after explaining the concept of love to a very confused Ron, giving the twins breakfast, and calming down a distraught Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George, had gathered in the kitchen to mull things over. Ron had finally calmed down enough to speak without shouting, and Hermione eventually managed to stop sniffling and breaking down, but the conversation was scattered and scarce. Throughout the afternoon, the downhearted group took it in turns to look at the Weasley clock, but Ginny's hand was always on 'ON A QUEST'. Mrs Weasley had placed the picture frame which had was contained the words that had driven Ginny 'on her quest' in the middle of the kitchen table. Though the words had now faded into nothing, they were still engraved into the minds of all who had seen it, Mrs. Weasley in particular.

* * *

'Love made this picture. Lost love broke this picture, and therefore this picture cannot be repaired.' 

The words kept swirling round Ginny's head, like a hurricane. She felt, for the third time since she had set off, her invisibility charm fading. She recast it, and once again cast the spell that caused the time to come out of her watch. '12.00', it read. _Lunchtime,_ Ginny thought, and her stomach growled, as if reading her thoughts. She decided that she must eat to keep up her energy. Although she was a pro at conjuring spells, she was not welcoming to the idea of doing them, balancing on a broomstick, in the middle of who knows where. So she carried on flying until she found a suitable back alley to land in. She got off her broomstick, shrunk it, and stowed it away in the backpack that she conjured. She then lifted summoned her strength, and focused her mind into imagining a big flask full of hot tomato soup, and a hunk of warm bread.

"Advenio cibatus!" she said, and in her hands appeared a flask and a lump of smelly cheese.

"Well, I didn't get the bread, but at least I got the soup!" she exclaimed hopefully, and twisted the lid off the flask. She peered inside, and by the dim light of the back alley, could just about see a brown gloopy liquid.

"Looks like it's Muggle food for me then," she said, disgruntled. She vanished the flask and the cheese, then found the way out of the alley. Not used to the Muggle world, she headed for the first building she saw, which said on the top of it in big bold letters:

'**The Great Ape.'**

* * *

Back at the Burrow, Ginny's hand on the clock swiveled to the 'CONFUSED' section.

* * *

Ginny entered 'The Great Ape' and walked over to the reception desk. 

"Um, do you sell soup?" she asked awkwardly, wondering where all the other customers were. The lady behind the desk looked very confused, and replied:

"I think you must be in the wrong place, we don't sell food here. We're an organization that works for the removal of the non-human great apes from the category of property, and for their immediate inclusion within the category of persons." She smiled apologetically, and Ginny blushed.

"Oh, sorry, I'm not from around here. Do you know the nearest place that I can get some food? I've been traveling all day and I'm famished!"

The lady smiled again and replied "The nearest place that sells food is the supermarket just down the street. This is a dead end street, surely you must have passed it to get here?"

"Oh, right, yes. Sorry to have wasted your time," Ginny replied, and hastily ran out of 'The Great Ape', blushing like mad.

How could she be so stupid! Her stomach growled again, and she walked up the street, sighting the supermarket almost immediately. She strode through the large automatic doors, which puzzled her slightly. She walked up and down the aisles until she found the soup section. She then realised that she had no way of heating the soup, seeing as she was in a Muggle area, so instead she went to the 'prepared sandwiches' section, and picked up a packet of turkey sandwiches. She chose a relatively short queue, and very soon she was being served. When it came to paying, however, she cursed herself as she remembered that she didn't have any Muggle money!

* * *

The Weasley clock slid effortlessly from 'CONFUSED' to 'IN NEED OF MUGGLE MONEY'. Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes, and hoped that Ginny was wearing that special coat that she had given her at Christmas.

* * *

Ginny felt a small plop in her coat pocket, and remembered at once its magical abilities. She reached into the pocket and produced the strange coins, handing them over to the friendly cashier, who smiled at her and gave half of them back. Ginny thanked her, and took her sandwiches and money out into the street. Thank God for her coat!

* * *

_Review responses:_

_Nomad274- if you're still reading the story, you probably have a good idea of that now. However, I haven't actually told you the main reason yet, but if you keep reading then you'll find out soon enough._

_Missmunky- thank you!_

_Gemini-ini- yes they will get back together, eventually. Sorry, but this story won't contain any R/Hr romance, I'm afraid. Thanks for the suggestion though._

_Cooki- thanks for the review._

_Swirlywhirlynutcase- thank you! Yes he did fly away on a broomstick._

_Ethne Blough- thanks for the advice, but things will be explained more clearly later in the story, its part of the build up._

_QueenNilya- good, I hope you like this!_

_Zippy-Wings- thank you!_

* * *

_Latin translations:_

_Advenio cibatus- this literally translates as: 'come, food'._

_

* * *

_

_Resources:_

_The Great Ape- believe it or not, this is actually a real organisation, and part of the receptionist's line is taken directly from there website. For more information, __type 'The Great Ape' into Google search, and click on the first option._

_

* * *

_

_Explanations:_

_The coat- basically, this is a magical coat that Mrs. Weasley bought Ginny for Christmas. Mrs. Weasley has a matching coat, and anything that Mrs. Weasley puts into her coat's pocket will be duplicated into Ginny's coat pocket, and vice versa._


	7. The unexplainable explained

_Author notes: This chapter is going to be from the POV of Harry, and we're back to the part where Harry originally flew off from the Burrow. This is the chapter where I'll explain everything about Ginny's mysterious argument etc. etc. So this should be quite a long chapter. Anyway, enough rambling, on with the story!_

* * *

Chapter 7 – The unexplainable . . . explained 

As soon as Harry got on his broomstick, he felt the same amazing thrill as he always did. He was in the air, on a broomstick, and he was _flying _again. So yeah, OK, Harry had played Quidditch often enough, but he never ceased to be amazed at the pure joy he felt every time he took off. Soon, he was well away from the Burrow, and pulling his father's invisibility cloak around himself and his luggage. He had made his suitcase weightless and attached it to the end of his broom using a magical rope. Then he had shrunk it so that it would be covered with his invisibility cloak, too. You wouldn't know it was there, apart from the shimmery golden thread used to secure it to the broomstick.

From experience, Harry decided to stay well beneath the clouds. They were always very wet, and often very cold, particularly with the strong wind that was blowing. Harry sighed. Although he was flying, this was nothing like Quidditch. In Quidditch, Harry knew what to do. He had to search for the snitch, and catch it. It had always seemed fairly hard to Harry, looking for a tiny gold ball in the middle of a gigantic stadium. But what he found even harder, was what he had to do now. For the simple reason that, he didn't _know _what he had to do now. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, only harder, because he didn't know that it was a needle he was looking for, he just knew that it was something very small. He sighed again. Why was everything always so complicated? His relationship with Ginny, for a start. Why had she got it into her head that Harry and Hermione were dating? Why? It was all so sudden. All so . . . unexplainable.

* * *

Harry had been flying all day. He didn't stop for breakfast. He didn't stop for lunch. And he most certainly didn't stop for dinner. But now, night was falling, and he decided that it would be as good a time to stop as any. He landed in the middle of a vast field of corn, and conjured a nice big, warm meal. His mouth watered as he looked at all the delectable food that he had produced. Five chicken legs, a dish full of roast potatoes, a packet of ready prepared salad, a plate with a big slice of Pumpkin Pie on it, a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a big flask of tea, a bottle of orange juice, and a bottle of water. He devoured it all in seconds. Burping, he vanished the dishes, packaging, plates, flasks and bottles, then conjured a sleeping bag and a tent, preparing him for the long night ahead.

It _was_ a long. A _very_ long night. There were all sorts of night time noises. And it was cold. _Very_ cold. Eventually, though, Harry got some sleep, and woke up reasonably refreshed. _Maybe I should give this up, _he thought, _maybe I should just go back to the Burrow._

* * *

**-Flashback-**

**"Oh, yeah, _sure_, that's what they all say!" Ginny muttered. She collapsed into a chair and started crying. It hurt Harry inside to see the one he loved crying. But it hurt even more to be accused by the one he loved. Him and Hermione, as if! They were friends, sure, but go out? Nah!**

**-End flashback-**

* * *

Harry groaned as he remembered the ongoing conflict between himself Ginny, and got back on his broom. He wouldn't give in, he _wouldn't_. No, no, not _wouldn't_. He _couldn't _give up. Vanishing the sleeping bag and tent, jumping onto his broom, and reattaching his luggage to it, then covering himself and the lot of it with the invisibility cloak, Harry set off again, zooming high up above the field, but just below the clouds. He flew for an age, and eventually his stomach was growling so loudly that he couldn't ignore it a moment longer. 

"Timefactum!" Harry said, giving his wand a flick. Almost at once, florescent numbers piled out the end of his wand, to form the time in the air. 12:00. Lunchtime. He found a good place to land and set down there, shrinking his broomstick, and putting it, along with his luggage and wand, into his coat pocket. He decided that it would be best not to attempt magic in this Muggle filled environment, so he went in search of a place that sold food. As he rounded a corner, he saw a man who looked about middle aged, and he was holding a signpost which said 'The Great Ape' on it. Thinking that it sounded like a place that sold food, he walked up to the man and asked him directions to it.

"It's on the other side of town," the man said, in a deep, rumbling voice. "Quite a long way away. On foot, it would take about half an hour to get there."

_Half an hour?_ Wasn't prepared to walk for that long, and it was too risky to get back on his broomstick just yet. He'd have to find somewhere nearer.

"Excuse me, sir…" but the man was already gone, walking around with his signpost, calling out something. Harry wasn't sure what he was saying, but he caught the words 'great', 'ape', and 'charity'. Sighing, Harry carried on walking, and eventually saw a newsagent that was open. As he was about to walk into it, however, Harry saw a familiar figure walk out. It was Ginny. She looked up and smiled at him. Harry noticed a strange glaze over her eyes.

"Harry!" she said, stumbling towards him, wearing some orange gloves that Mrs. Weasley had knitted, and that Ginny had _sworn_ never to wear. Grabbing hold of Harry's arm, she jerked him around and started marching- seemingly purposely- down the street and towards a train station that Harry hadn't noticed before. Harry was brought out of shocked silence, however, when Ginny marched right up to the ticket booth.

"Two children's tickets for Straghal, please," she demanded.

"Certainly, will you be wanting return tickets, miss?" the ticket master asked politely.

"Nope," Ginny said, laughing loudly, "we're going to be staying there for a _very_ long time!" she giggled again. Harry was scared now. What was wrong with her? This wasn't the Ginny he knew . . . this was… some kind of … _new _Ginny, almost . . . _scary _Ginny.

"Er, Gin, are you sure you're OK?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yeah! Never been better!" she screamed in his ear. Harry flinched, but was not convinced. He shrugged her hand off his shoulder, and felt his temper rising.

"Look, I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you've done with Ginny, but GIVE HER BACK! Give her back, I tell you, I don't know who you are but I know you're not her!"

**

* * *

-Flashback-**

**Harry noticed a strange glaze over Ginny's eyes . . . wearing some orange gloves that Mrs. Weasley had knitted . . . sworn never to wear them . . . "we're going to be staying there for a _very _long time," . . . this was some kind of new Ginny, almost scary Ginny.**

**-End flashback-**

* * *

Ginny just smiled at him again, and moved closer, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Get away from me!" Harry screamed. People were beginning to turn, now, turn and stare. Tears streamed down Harry's face, and he shouted some more.

"Give her back! Give Ginny back! Take me, take me instead! Anyone but Ginny!" he was rambling now. Ginny took another step towards him, and Harry turned, preparing himself to run. But behind him, walking towards him, was the man that he had seen holding the 'Great Ape' sign, though he was no longer holding the sign, and Harry could see a wand tucked up his sleeve. He had the same glazed look as Ginny had had, although he looked a little more . . . evil. Hurriedly, Harry turned around, searching for another way to escape, but Harry's rant had attracted attention and there was now quite a crowd. Harry was alarmed to see that Ginny was only a step away.

He did the only thing he could. He pushed Ginny on the shoulder. Hard. Then he ran past her, pausing to look back only once. But looking back that once was all it took. All it took for him to see what happened next. And what happened next was, from Harry's shove, Ginny had lost her balance and fallen over the edge of the track. Right into the path of a moving train.

_

* * *

_

_Author notes: Dun dun dun! Sorry to leave you on such a cliffhanger, but I thought that it was a good place to finish. If you can guess what happened to Ginny, then write it in your comment! I wanna know what you thought of this chapter, as in was it any good or not? Sorry that I haven't updated in a while; I've been really busy and concentrating on different things. I also had a good bout of writer's block. I'm halfway through the next chapter, though, which, unfortunately for you, doesn't take place from either Harry nor Ginny's POV. You'll just have to wait and see what it's about, though. Please leave your comments; I'm counting on you guys! Remember, the more reviews, the faster I update!_


	8. Everything will be OK

_Author notes: I felt bad for waiting ages to post the last chapter, so I thought I'd post this one up now. Then I was planning to go on a computer strike. Mad, I know; I can't live without computers. But my mum was really getting to me by saying that I was obsessed with the computer, and I set out to prove her wrong. I do not know how I planned to survive, but there you go, didn't even try, I took the coward's way out._

_I wrote this chapter with the old fashioned, but just as reliable, paper and pen, so now I have a whole lump of fan fiction for you, so enjoy! Oh yeah, I almost forgot; this chapter is from the POV of Mrs. Weasley. Yea, I know, I'm so evil, aren't I? Not telling you what happened to Harry and Ginny! But not to worry, that's coming in the next chapter._

_

* * *

_Chapter 8 – Everything will be OK 

Mrs. Weasley sighed, and looked at the family clock for the hundredth time since Ginny had left. About two hours previously, Ginny's hand had moved to read 'IN MINOR PERIL', and had stayed there ever since. Blinking a tear away from her eyes, Mrs Weasley turned to the twins.

"Cheer up, mum!" said George, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, mum," Fred chipped in. "Harry and Ginny will be fine! We've had enough Divination lessons with Professor Trelawney to know that!"

Mrs. Weasley chuckled; Fred and George always knew how to cheer her up. Drying her eyes with a tea towel, Mrs Weasley got up to send the hourly owl to her husband to tell him that they had had no further news.

* * *

"Mum! I'm home!"

Mrs. Weasley ran down the stairs to the kitchen; she recognised the voice as her eldest son, Bill. Sure enough, there he was, standing in the middle of the kitchen, smiling, with a glazed look in his eyes.

Bill walked over to his mother and gave her a hug; she was taken aback, usually she had to force the hugs out of him like scraping bits of dried pumpkin pasty off of a baking tray. But here he was, hugging her . . . hugging her to death!

Choking slightly, Mrs Weasley sank to her knees, and her head came to rest on the floor. His business done, Bill strode out of the front door, and apparated as soon as he got to the end of the gravel path.

* * *

Fred and George left their mother as she began her letter to their dad, and went to find Ron. They found him in his room, slumped over his desk, asleep. Grinning, Fred pulled a Noiseless-Noisy-Trumpet out of his pocket; it was a new product that they had recently put on the market. The Noiseless-Noisy-Trumpet jumped into Ron's ear, and the twins watched with smirks as their brother jumped up with a yell.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded crossly.

"New invention," Fred said.

"Noiseless-Noisy-Trumpet," George added proudly.

"A _what_?" Ron exclaimed, raising his eyebrows threateningly. "How can you have a Noiseless-Noisy-Trumpet?"

"Well. First of all, it jumps into the victim's ear . . ." Fred started helpfully, but was interrupted by Ron's angry glare.

"I had something that _you two _made in my ear?"

"Well, just,"

"Whaddya mean, just?"

"Well, it was an incredibly close fit, what with all that ear wax in there!"

"Oh, shove off, George! So anyway, what happens after it's jumped into my ear?"

"The trumpet sounds," Fred said with a grin.

"Noisily."

"But noiselessly."

"Precisely, Fred," said George, then sighed, exasperated, when he caught the look on Ron's face. "Basically, Ronald, only the victim, ahem, lucky individual, hears the trumpet."

"And it's loud," Fred.

"Very loud," George.

"Very, very loud," Fred.

"Very, very, very loud," George.

"Very, ver-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Fred. It's very loud."

"_Fred_, you told our trade secret!"

"Er, guys, would you mind telling me why you woke me up from this blissful dream I was having about Herm . . . ione doing my homework?" Ron said, blushing like mad. Standing on either side of him, Fred and George grabbed his arms and dragged him out the door and down the stairs.

"We're going to play Quidditch," they said, "and a have a little, brotherly, heart-to-heart session while we're at it. Main topic on the agenda; your heart!" Ron groaned and reluctantly let them drag him to the broom cupboard, and then outside.

* * *

As soon as their feet left the ground, the twins bombarded Ron with questions.

"So, what's this dream that you had about Hermione, then?"

"Coz it certainly wasn't about homework!"

"Yeah, we saw how red you got!"

"Almost as red as Umbridge got when she couldn't get rid of our fireworks, remember that, Fred?"

"How could I forget? It was a blast! Literally! But back to the matter at hand, George."

"Yes, Fred, this is certainly more important than . . . sweet, sweet, memories . . . so, did you and Hermione . . . do anything in your dream?"

* * *

And so it went on. Suddenly, a horribly familiar voice cut through the air.

"I don't know _what_ you're saying about me, but it's sure to be nasty! Anyway, for no we must put our differences aside, as you may be concerned to know that at this very moment, your mother is lying unconscious on the kitchen floor, and I'm no Healer, but it doesn't look like she passed out because of the heat!"

The three siblings frowned, unsure whether it sounded serious or not.

"It may not sound too bad to you," Hermione continued, as if reading their minds, "but catch a glimpse of her face, and you'll know for sure that something's up!"

Noting the panic rising in Hermione's voice, the four of them made their way back to the house as quickly as they could.

* * *

They hurried into the kitchen, and the motionless body of their mother slumped on the floor was the first and only thing that they saw. Hermione rolled her over so they could all see her face, and it was a haunting sight. Her eyes, unblinking and glazed, seemed to drill holes through to the back of their necks. Her mouth hung open slightly, as if she had preparing to scream, but not had the chance. And her skin was white, as white as . . . death.

"Oh. My. God." Ron whispered, the shock registering on his face. "What's wrong with her? What did that to her?"

He was pointing to the bruising covering her neck, and on her arms.

"Somebody call St. Mungo's, and quick." Hermione said, with her usually calm, though now disturbed, voice.

George ran to get in touch with St. Mungo's, Fred ran to get in touch with their father, and Ron stayed with the weeping Hermione, and his mother. He took another look at his mother's face, and shuddered. Putting an arm around Hermione's shaking shoulders, he hugged her to his chest.

"It'll be OK, Herm. Everything will be OK."

_

* * *

Author notes: Dun dun dun! I am so evil; I leave you with two cliff-hangers! Mwahahahaha! So what's happening with all of this? Only time will tell. Your gonna have to wait. Or, come to think of it, you could track me down and come and torture me until I reveal to you the plot line. But please don't, I'm a good girl, I do my homework, don't make me die young! Oooh, and there might be a little R/H action emerging, I'm not sure yet. Tell me what you think about that idea. The next chapter shouldn't be too long, I've already started it, I just need to re-read what I've done so far before I can carry on. But yeah, please r&r, you have no idea how happy it makes me feel to have 'Review Alert' pop into my inbox._


	9. Well isn't that funny?

_Author notes: Omg this is chapter nine! I never in a billion years thought I would get this far! I almost didn't. Sorry it took so long; I had a MAJOR case of writer's block. I wrote up to the first line OK, but then... BLANK. Well, here it is at last … the chapter carrying on from two chapters previous. You know, the one in which Harry pushes the glazed- eyed Ginny in front of a moving train. Well, I won't leave you in suspense any longer … here we go!_

* * *

Chapter 9 – Well isn't that funny?

Shocked silence. All eyes turned to the train. To the body that was now horribly visible. Then to Harry. Accusing eyes turned from all directions. Part of Harry's brain was screaming at him _Run! Run! _But he couldn't. He couldn't leave Ginny. Or whoever it was- those last few minutes before Harry had pushed her had been scary ones; Ginny hadn't been herself. Still, no reason to push _anyone_ under a train. Harry's throat felt like it was on fire; if you have ever felt the need to cry, but know that it's not quite appropriate, then you'll know what he was going through. He gulped, and walked over to a spot where blood had splattered up onto the platform. He didn't know why, but an instinct in the back of his mind made him reach out and touch the blood. As soon as his fingers made contact with it, his forehead erupted with pain. It was his scar. Harry put one shaking hand up to his forehead, and pulled the other one away from the blood.

Still the pain continued. It continued when he felt someone grabbing him from behind (_you're under arrest on the charge of manslaughter_). It continued when he was pulled into a standing position (_you have the right to remain silent_). It continued as he was loaded into the back of a van (_but anything you do say may be held against you in court_). But there wasn't just pain in his forehead; there was also pain in his heart. He'd … he'd … he didn't want to think about it. He shuddered.

"Ginny…" he whimpered, then the physical and emotional pain got too much, and he blacked out.

* * *

Ginny walked out of the supermarket, clutching her sandwiches, and sat down on a wet bench to eat them. Just as she was finishing, the cold began to seep through her clothes, and she got up. She decided it would be best to find out where exactly she was.

"Excuse me," she asked a woman in a purple mackintosh, "I'm afraid I'm not from around here, could you tell me where exactly this is?"

"We be in Straghal, miss. I 'ope you don't mind my asking, but what would a young lady like you be doing in Straghal? In the rain? On your _own_?"

The last question sounded more like a threat than a question. Ginny was scared.

"Erm, I'm … visiting a friend … in London," she said hurriedly.

"I see. And … you came to Straghal … on the way?"

"Yes! Erm … my friend told me about … The Great Ape … she said I should visit it…"

"But there's another Great Ape in London!"

"Is there? Well, fancy that! Um, better be on my way!" And with that, Ginny half ran, half sprinted, to the train station. Joining the queue to get the first ticket to anywhere, she spotted a teenage boy with scruffy, raven black hair, at the front of the queue. Harry! Ginny ran up to him.

"Harry!"

The boy turned round. It was indeed Harry. But he had a strange kind of look- sort of… glazed.

"Ginny, darling, what a surprise!" he turned back to the ticket master, "make that two, darling."

Darling! What the hell was going on? Ginny's suspicions were confirmed when 'Harry' turned round and dragged Ginny bodily onto the platform. He turned to her with a fixed smile and gazed at her hauntingly.

"Er, Harry, are you sure you're OK?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"Yeah! Never been better!" he screamed in her ear. Ginny flinched, but was not convinced. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder, and felt her temper rising.

"Look, I don't know who you are, and I don't know what you've done with Harry, but GIVE HIM BACK! Give him back, I tell you, I don't know who you are but I know you're not him!"

* * *

**-Flashback-**

**Ginny darling … make that two, darling … Harry turned round and dragged her bodily onto the platform … fixed smile … gazed at her hauntingly … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes … glazed eyes …**

**-End flashback-**

* * *

Harry just smiled at her again, and moved closer, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Get away from me!" Ginny screamed. People were beginning to turn, now, turn and stare. Tears streamed down Ginny's face, and she shouted some more.

"Give him back! Give Harry back! Take me, take me instead! Anyone but Harry!" she was rambling now. Harry took another step towards her, and Ginny turned, preparing herself to run. But behind her, walking towards her, was the woman that had questioned her about her visit, but she was no longer wearing her purple mackintosh, and Ginny could see a wand tucked up her sleeve. She had the same glazed look as Harry had had, although she looked a little more . . . evil. Hurriedly, Ginny turned around, searching for another way to escape, but Ginny's rant had attracted attention and there was now quite a crowd. Ginny was alarmed to see that Harry was only a step away.

She did the only thing she could. She pushed Harry on the shoulder. Hard. Then she ran past him, pausing to look back only once. But looking back that once was all it took. All it took for her to see what happened next. And what happened next was, from Ginny's shove, Harry had lost his balance and fallen over the edge of the track. Right into the path of a moving train.

* * *

Shocked silence. All eyes turned to the train. To the body that was now horribly visible. Then to Ginny. Accusing eyes turned from all directions. Part of Ginny's brain was screaming at her _Run! Run! _But she couldn't. She couldn't leave Harry. Or whoever it was- those last few minutes before Ginny had pushed him had been scary ones; Harry hadn't been himself. Still, no reason to push _anyone_ under a train. Ginny's throat felt like it was on fire; if you have ever felt the need to cry, but know that it's not quite appropriate, then you'll know what she was going through. She gulped, and walked over to a spot where blood had splattered up onto the platform. She didn't know why, but an instinct in the back of her mind made her reach out and touch the blood. As soon as her fingers made contact with it, she felt really light-headed. She pulled her hand away from the blood, and knelt on the edge of the platform, wondering what to do.

"Somebody grab her, quick!"

She felt strong arms grab her from behind, and once again silence followed.

"Well isn't anybody going to phone the police?"

"Already done, Mr. Smith. They're on their way. They're coming straight from another incident. An incident where a young lad pushed a young girl under a train. Isn't that funny?"

They strong man who held Ginny from behind erupted in loud guffaws. No, it's not funny. It's not funny at all. They're laughing at people's deaths … people's murders. I killed Harry. I _killed _Harry. Harry. _Harry. _Dead. Ginny renewed her crying, and soon she heard police sirens cutting through the air like a knife.

She was shoved into the back of a van. There was one other occupant. The other murderer, no doubt. She looked up, and saw a teenage boy with scruffy, raven black hair sitting across from her. He looked up, puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" they said in unison, "I just pushed you under a moving train!"

* * *

_Author notes: tee hee hee, did ya like it? I'm particularly interested to see what you thought of this chapter, it might have been a little repetitive, but it was all for the atmosphere, honest. Once again, my sincerest apologies for not updating for ages … I'm going to try really hard to get chapter ten up as soon as possible. Chapter ten! Man, that sounds good! The next chapter will be off to St. Mungo's, and we'll find out the fate of Mrs. Weasley! Oh, I hope you had a great Christmas and a brilliant New Year! One of my New Year's resolutions is to update my fan fiction more often, so I hope I can keep it! So long!_


	10. OH MY GOD!

_Author notes: Wow, chapter ten! Omg that feels so good! This chapter will be about Mrs Weasley's fate, but first, I have had a request to do a re-cap on the story so far, so I will._

_Harry arrived at the Burrow, and Hermione found out that Harry fancied Ginny. Ginny had her suspicions and she, along with everyone else (barring Ron) found out about Harry's crush. It turned out that Ginny had a crush on him, too, and they kissed in Ginny's room. Then they arranged to meet each other in the kitchen at midnight. They started to kiss but then Ginny had a mysterious turn and started shouting at Harry. Fred and George walked in on them and Harry stormed upstairs, shortly followed by Ginny. Hermione went to explain things to Ginny and she decided to forgive Harry. But she was too late; Harry had left on his broomstick! Ginny went to bed and in the morning broke a picture frame with a picture of her and Harry hugging in it. The picture did not remain there; instead it was replaced by words. Ginny resolved that she would go and find Harry. Harry was confronted by a glazed-eyed Ginny, and pushed her under a moving train. Meanwhile, back at the Burrow, a glazed-eyed Bill strangled Mrs Weasley who collapsed on the floor. Her fate remains unknown (though you'll find out soon enough!). Ginny was confronted by a glazed-eyed Harry, and pushed him under a moving train. They both meet again once they are captured and held in the back of a police van. Oh yeah, Harry and Ginny are both of age now, and can do magic out of school, but neither of them can apparate._

_

* * *

_

Chapter 10 – OH MY GOD!

Fred, George, and Ron Weasley sat in the waiting room outside room 13, along with a tearful Hermione Granger. They were on floor fourth, the floor for spell damage. A Healer with blonde hair rushed out of the room, fear showing in her eyes.

"Is our mum-" George began, but stopped when the Healer shot and icy glare in his direction

"Not _now _son, I have something important to do!"

George grumbled something in reply, and slumped down further into his seat. The Weasley twins got very grouchy when they were concerned, and now they had a good reason. Ron sat silently beside them. He hadn't said a word since they had arrived, and their dad had disappeared into the room with their mother, and a bunch of good-looking Healers. His arm was around Hermione's shaking shoulder, but it was slack and hopeless. He glanced up from time to time, when he thought nobody was looking, sneaking peeps at the door, willing it with all his might to open. But it didn't.

After what seemed like and age, they heard a commotion outside. Footsteps, running. Up the stairs. Then Bill and Charlie burst through the door, red in the face. They slouched on the two vacant chairs next to Hermione, panting. Once they had caught their breath, Bill said

"We came as soon as we heard! I think I heard something about bad bruising or something, is she OK?"

"No she is _not _OK!" Fred snapped. "She was literally black and blue, and her eyes were so haunting!"

"OK, OK, we didn't mean it like that! We were just concerned!" Charlie replied. "Sounds like dark magic to me. Have you been getting the newspaper lately?"

"No," the twins replied, but Hermione sat up a little straighter, rubbing her eyes, which now had the glint that they always had when she'd realised something.

"Yes, of _course_," she exclaimed. "It said in the newspaper that V- … that V- … that he-who-must-not-be-named had found a way to create new dark creatures!" she frowned. "I don't really know what the dark creatures are, the paper was very vague, no doubt the Ministry sent them threats so they wouldn't publish things that would make us panic…"

"Panic?" Ron exclaimed, speaking for the first time since their arrival, and jumping onto his chair. "What do they expect us to do? Sit around twiddling our thumbs while _you-know-who_ is acquiring new dark minions? OF COURSE WE'RE GOING TO PANIC!"

It was then that they realised their father had come out of room 13, and was waiting patiently for Ron to finish his little rant. Embarrassed, Ron got down from the chair he was standing on, and sat down. The family looked expectantly at Mr Weasley, who smiled and cleared his throat, and then told them of their mother's condition.

"She's in a bad way, but she is, at least, stable. She will recover. How long it will take, I do not know. Nobody knows. But she will survive, and that's all that matters. You can't go in to see her today, I'm afraid. We'll come back tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. But you'll have to go in pairs, I'm afraid. In her current condition, she's not allowed more than two visitors at a time."

"Is she conscious?" Hermione asked nervously.

Mr Weasley sighed. "Not at the moment, no. That's why you're not allowed to see her today; they want to perform a few tests on her, so they can provide the right treatment. They are sure that they will be able to get her conscious by tomorrow."

* * *

Hermione woke up early that morning. She looked across at Ginny's bed, wondering if she was awake yet. Then she remembered. Ginny wasn't there any more. Ginny had left. What _was _going on? First Harry left. Then Ginny went after him. And now Mrs Weasley was … Mrs Weasley was … badly hurt. _Who knows who's going to be next? _She thought, then mentally slapped herself for thinking things like that. She heaved herself out of bed, dragged on her dressing gown, and traipsed down the stairs.

She found a barn owl tapping at the window, and let it in. It dropped a rolled up newspaper on the table, and waited expectantly. Hermione understood its penetrating gaze, and rummaged in her pocket until she found the suitable coins, which she tucked into the owls leg poach. The owl flew away and Hermione closed the window after it. With nothing better to do, she sat down at the table, unfolding the newspaper as she did so. The main headline made her close her eyes in shock. She opened them again, willing it to have been an illusion. It wasn't. She read the rest of the article.

_'**Muggle Murder!'**_

_Muggle police arrested the famous Harry Potter and his faithful sidekick Ginny Weasley yesterday. Both of them, at separate locations, pushed a child under a Muggle mode of transport called a train. The trains were in motion at the time, and both victims died instantly. Harry and Ginny are being held in a police station and their trial has been set for next Tuesday. We do not know what drove the double act to perform such terrible crimes, but we have been assured that they will be suitably punished._

Hermione rested her head on the table; this was _not _right. Her friends weren't murderers! They had been set up. There was something going on, and it wasn't good. She took the newspaper back up to her room, and got changed quickly. She quickly scanned the rest of the newspaper for anything other of interest. She was just about to leave to tell the others what she had found, when she saw another newspaper in her room. It was the one from a couple of days ago. The one telling of Voldemort's new minions. I look of total understanding swept across her face, and she picked that one up too, then marched out of the room and up the stairs.

* * *

She banged crossly on the door for the fifth time. When no one answered her, she barged in, and stomped over to Ron's sleeping form. She shook him roughly.

"Ronald, will you _wake up_!" she demanded.

"Oh, Hermione, I was sleeping! What did you wake me up for?"

Hermione softened a little, wanting to laugh at the look on his face, but knowing that the situation wasn't a laughing matter. "Ron, it's important! Read this!" she shoved the newspaper under his nose. At first he didn't say anything, but once his eyes had focused…

"OH MY GOD!"

* * *

Arthur Weasley heard his son shouting and apparated down to his room immediately. After what had happened to his wife, he was tighter on security than ever before.

* * *

Mr Weasley apparated into the room with a small pop, shortly followed by Fred and George. By this time, Ron has finished reading the article, and was deeply shocked.

"Blimey, aren't they in it deep?" he said, and Hermione could have hit him.

"No Ron, don't you see? They didn't do it at all. They were set up! By Voldemort." Ron flinched, and she grabbed the paper from his lap.

"Is everything all right?" Mr Weasley asked, wondering what on earth Hermione was on about.

"No, it's not," Hermione sobbed, passing him the paper. He read it in silence for a moment or two, his face unreadable.

"Let's go downstairs," he said, marching out the door.

They gathered in the kitchen, stomachs rumbling loudly. Mr Weasley turned and looked at each of his sons, then at Hermione.

"Any good at making breakfast?" he asked with a grin, but everyone saw that the smile did not reach his eyes.

* * *

After a somewhat disheartening breakfast of mushy beans on burnt toast, the seven of them (Bill and Charlie had now joined them) returned to the paper. Hermione told them about her suspicions that Voldemort was behind it all, and produced the other paper for extra information. They sat in silence, and then Mr Weasley made some decisions.

"OK, I guess I should go to the Ministry to try and sort Harry and Ginny out, or at least find out what I can. You lot can go to St. Mungo's and visit your mother. Bill, Charlie, you're in charge, and the rest of you must follow what they say to the letter, you here me? I don't want anything else happening to any of you, enough has happened already. And stick together. At all times. If what Hermione says is true, then by God that's an even better reason to stick together. I want you to send me an owl once you get there. And I want you _all _back here before 3 o'clock. Send me an owl when you get back, too." He turned to Bill and Charlie. "_I'm trusting you_." With a last look at all of them, he apparated, leaving the kitchen seeming colder and less defensive than before.

* * *

Thankfully, all six of them had passed their apparation tests, so they apparated into the main entrance of St. Mungo's. They made their way up to the fourth floor.

"You guys wait here, we'll go and find out what we can," Bill said, then he and Charlie walked into room 13, leaving the rest of them behind.

* * *

A long while later, and they still hadn't come back.

"Where do you suppose they've gone?" Fred asked.

"They've probably found mum and stayed with her. You know that she's only allowed two visitors at a time. They'd better come back soon, it's not fair; we want to see her too…" George moaned, more to himself than as a reply to Fred's question.

Hermione, who was paranoid that something had happened to them, quietly whispered to herself

"They're fine, they're gonna be fine, they're fine…"

* * *

As a matter of fact, they _had_ found their mother, but they were _not _fine. They spoke to a Healer, and she asked their names.

"Bill Weasley and Charlie Weasley; we're sons of Molly Weasley." Bill said, taking charge.

"Hmm, yes, the Healer in who has got your mother as his main subject wanted to see you, Bill. We were going to send you an owl this morning. Looks like you beat us to it … come this way."

They followed here into a small office, perplexed.

"Joe, two of the Weasley boys to see you."

"Ah, excellent, Meredith. You may leave. Sit down boys." He cleared his throat, and turned to Bill. "Can you just confirm for me that you are William Weasley, son of Arthur and Molly?"

"I am."

"And you visited us here at St. Mungo's a few months ago because of a burn you acquired when … testing one of your brothers' products?"

"That is correct."

"What is this, a trial?" Charlie interrupted crossly. "I fail to see what this has to do with the well being of our mother."

"Oh, it has everything to do with it. You see, when we were curing Bill of his burns, we had to take a copy of his fingerprints, so that we Healed him properly. Matching sets of fingerprints were found on your mother's body, around the bruising."

A tall figure stepped out of the shadows. "We are taking you two to be held in the Ministry of Magic, until further investigation. William Weasley on the charge of attempted murder, and Charles Weasley on the charge of helping him." he grabbed both of them, and began to drag them towards the door.

"This is _absurd_!" Charlie protested.

"Why would we try to kill our mother?" Bill asked, fear in his eyes. He didn't do it, he just _didn't_. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. Yes it was!

The guard dragged them away single handed, but he went out a different way to the way they came in, therefore not seeing Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione to tell them what had happened. They didn't know it yet, but things _weren't _about to get better.

* * *

_Author notes: I hope you like that chapter, it's the longest one I've done so far- the story alone (ie excluding my two lengthy author notes) is over 2000 words! And an added bonus is that I'm submitting it so quickly after the last chapter! Lucky you! But school's starting tomorrow, so I won't have as much time on my hands. However, I have made it my goal to submit one chapter every weekend. Not necessarily for this story, though. I'm going to continue with my others as well. But this is my main ficcy. Please please please tell me what you think of this chapter! Btw I'm hoping to make the next chapter 2500 words! So read & review! Luv ya! xxx_


	11. Verbal Diarrhoea

_Author notes: Sorry I haven't updated this particular fan fiction for so long. Anyone who reads my other fan fictions will know that I have been updating them, hence the long absence of this chapter. And I apologise to those of you who believed this would be chapter twelve- my mistake, I got confused. When I opened up all the previous chapters to recap what I'd done so far, I thought 'wtf? Where's chapter 11?' but then I realised that for the first time in my life I was wrong about something. Lol, I'm kidding. Oh and if you want to check out my public apology concerning 'When Love Comes Close', chapter three, then it's on my profile under 'progress'. Emma (brightsideoflife) told me that if I didn't apologise (if you want to know what for, then go ahead, have a look, I dare ya) then she wouldn't review. So I apologised. Publicly. On my profile. And guess what? She hasn't reviewed! Apparently, her computer wouldn't let her. Yeah, right. That's what they all say! Anyway, whatever. I hope you like this chapter. My muse made me write it. It's no fair, my muse ganged up on me with my subconscious mind and my writer's ego! No way could I win against that lot! Lol, anyway, enjoy! And review!_

* * *

Chapter 11- Verbal Diarrhoea

Harry and Ginny gazed at each other for what could've been hours. They were both totally and utterly dumbfounded. Harry had been in a state of shock and despair because he had just pushed Ginny in front of a moving train. Ginny had been in a state of shock and despair because she had just pushed _Harry_ in front of a moving train. And guess what was happening now? They had just met again, perfectly unscathed, just minutes after both incidents had happened. It was beyond weird. After a few minutes of silence, Harry spoke.

"I knew that wasn't really you," he whispered. "I knew the minute you spoke to me. And those eyes…"

"All glazed and absent," Ginny continued, whispering as if dark creatures would jump up on her if she spoke too loudly. "It was horrible, Harry. Like something out of a nightmare!"

Harry put a comforting arm around her shoulders, nodding his agreement.

"It was scary all right!" he said, and then frowned. "Gin…" he said tentatively, not wanting to scare her any more than she already had been, "I know you're a bit shocked and upset right now; I am too… but, well, I really think we should be thinking about what we're gonna to do to get out of this." He continued, "We're going to the police station, Gin. They think we're criminals. They think we're… murderers."

He said the last word so quietly that if they hadn't been in such a closely confined space, Ginny would have had trouble hearing him. But even if they had been a world away, she would still have known what he said, because she was having exactly the same thoughts as he was. She shivered, and he squeezed her tightly to his chest. She felt disgusting. Congealed blood covered both her hands, and it smelt strongly. She just wanted to be clean again. And she wanted to sleep. She wanted to go home. She had found what she had come out to find; Harry. And the two of them had never been closer than this moment in the back of a small police van, the smell of blood and sweat close to overwhelming. But this wasn't the end. They still had a hell of a journey ahead of them. And they both knew this. And they both hated this.

* * *

Back at the Burrow, Ginny's hand on the Weasley clock changed to 'DANGER'. At the same time, the picture frame sat in the middle of the kitchen table began to glow. It glowed brighter and brighter, so bright that if the Weasleys had been in the kitchen and not at the hospital, they would have had to shield their eyes. And when they looked back again, they would have seen a picture of Ginny and Harry, laughing and hugging. The picture was back; Harry and Ginny were together again. But as the clock showed; they were in great danger. As were the rest of the Weasley family.

* * *

Harry and Ginny felt the van stop. There was a crunch of feet on gravel, and then the back doors were thrown open and light poured in. Harry put a hand up to protect his eyes from the light, and he could see that the police officer standing before them looked confused.

"Do you two know each other?" he asked with a frown. As far as he was concerned, they were a couple of adolescent criminals curled up together in the back of a dirty police van. Without waiting for an answer, he motioned with his hand. "Get out. Both of you." His voice was not harsh, but it was commanding, and the two young delinquents did what he said. Not for the first time when he was confronted with a case like this, he found himself praying to God that this had all been a horrible misunderstanding. He didn't like dealing with kids. And nine times out of ten? God was unforgiving. These cases didn't look much better; there had been plenty of witnesses, enough to get them holed up in a Criminal Youth Institution for a long, long time. The officer sighed. This was the part he hated most about his job.

He took the two teenagers by the hand and led them into a dimly lit reception area. He nodded to Miss. Mackay, the receptionist, and she pressed a button in front of her. At once, a pair of polished doors slid open with a hiss, and the officer walked his prisoners through. Once they were inside the grey hallway, the doors slid shut behind them. They walked through into a nothing grey room, and the officer vaguely waved a hand at them, telling them to sit down. He took a clipboard handed to him by another, younger, officer, and stared pointedly at Ginny.

"Name?" he demanded.

Ginny gulped. "Ginevra Molly Weasley." She said, her voice shaking. Harry had never heard her speak her full name before. He smiled as she said it; her voice was like music to his ears, every vowel and every consonant were pronounced perfectly, despite the fact that she was shaking badly. The officer turned to him.

"And yours?" he asked, all pretence of politeness shaken off now that he was back where he preferred; in the building.

"We're innocent!" Harry shouted. He didn't know why he said it. He didn't mean to. "Sorry," he said, when the officer glared at him. "Harry James Weasley. I mean- Harry James Potter." What was going on? It was like some kind of verbal diarrhoea! He was obviously just nervous. He didn't think the officer had taken too kindly to him.

"Could you just confirm to me that your name is Harry James _Potter_?" the officer asked.

"That's right." Harry replied, licking his dry lips.

"I'm Officer Harshall." He said, speaking to them both now. "I'm afraid you'll have to be locked in some of the rooms down the hall-" he gestured to the door that the younger (and noticeably less experienced) officer was standing nervously next to, watching the whole process as if he'd suddenly find a knife sticking out his back. "- and I'll give you the choice; you can either have separate rooms, or you can share one, seeing as how you seem to know each other. If you were adults, you wouldn't get that choice, but we understand that kids need emotional support." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Yes please, Officer Harshall." Ginny said. Harry marvelled at this; he had forgotten the git's name as soon as he said it! In one ear, out the other. Ginny carried on. "We'd like to share a room, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, but no funny business, yeh? If I hear of any funny business, then _wham_, you'll be as separate as chalk and cheese. You get my meaning?" he said, raising his eyebrows. They got his meaning. "Ok, Riser," he turned to the younger officer. "It's over to you!" he smiled his toothy smiled. 'Riser' looked visibly scared. Then he put on a professional face, and jerked his head in the direction of the door.

"Come on you two," he said. "Let's get you sorted."

They walked in silence for a while, down the ever-grey corridor. They passed numerous grey door, each one with a silver number painted on the front. It was a very foreboding place. Well, what would you expect, from a police station? Harry could take the depressing silence no more. He cast around desperately for something to say, something to comment on.

"So… 'Riser'," he began slowly.

"Darren." The young officer interrupted shortly. His expression was cast in iron; if you hadn't have heard him speak, you wouldn't of known it at all.

"Pardon?"

"Darren. Call me Darren."

"Oh, right. So… Darren." Harry started again. "You have any idea what is going to happen to us?"

Darren sighed, and stopped walking next to a door marked '16'. He produced a bunch of keys, fumbled around trying to find the right one, unlocked the door, and stepped back to let Harry and Ginny inside. Then he answered the question.

"Well, I don't really know much about your case. But I'm guessing an officer will come to question you tomorrow morning. There'll be enquiries. Maybe you'll get a trial date." He shrugged, and then shut the cell door, with an ominous clang that made both its occupants shudder in terror. They heard the key scraping in the lock, and the steady footfall of Darren Riser walking away from them. For a brief moment, Harry wondered if Darren would help them out. But then he shrugged the thought away. For him, it was just another day at work. The likely hood was that when he got home he would have forgotten all about them.

Harry sighed, and Ginny did likewise. They looked around the bare cell. All that was in there was the bunk bed (which they were perched on the bottom of), a sink (with only one tap; who bets that it was a cold tap), and two bright red pee buckets in opposite corners (for emergencies in the night). They hadn't been left with much instruction, apart from a laminated card tacked to the wall. Harry walked over to it. It read:

_Breakfast will be brought at 7- 30. Lunch will be brought at 1- 30. Dinner will be brought at 6- 30._

That was it. Harry shuddered as his thoughts turned to wondering how long they would have to stay in this horrible cell. He wondered how many of these meals he would have to endure. He looked at his watch, and found out the time; 5- 30. He and Ginny would have an hour in this dank room, without any company but each other. At least they had each other. Harry remembered Officer Harshall's warning; _no funny business, yeh? If I hear of any funny business, then _wham_, you'll be as separate as chalk and cheese_. Harry didn't doubt that what he had said was true; he was an imposing man, he seemed to hold a lot of power, and Harry had just noticed a security camera fixing its beady eye on him. Whatever was going to happen to them?

* * *

_Author Notes: I got Darren Riser from my mate… Darren Riser! Lol, he told me he wanted to work with the police when he grew up, so I thought he was perfect! I hope you liked this chapter; please review it! I should be getting another chapter of 'Harry Potter and the Chime of the Warrior' done next. Review!_


	12. I'm scared for us

_Author notes: so, the twelfth chapter of Must Be Love is finally here. After 5 months of not updating anything! I fell into a pit of despair and kinda gave up on my fan fictions, but some close friends have managed to convince me carry on, which was a remarkable feat so I thank them immensely. This chapter is dedicated to MistWolf101, ittbitty3993 and LunaBerry; they needed my help and I wasn't there for them, and for that I am eternally guilty. So here's chapter twelve of Must Be Love!_

**Disclaimer: JKR equals Genius!**

* * *

Chapter 12- I'm scared for us 

"All right, that's it, those two are so selfish, come on George, we're going in!" Fred yelled, standing up impatiently. He turned to Ron and Hermione. "You to stay here, in case Bill and Charlie come out and we don't see them."

"Don't you think…" Hermione began. "Don't you think we should stick together? That's what your dad said…"

"He did, I guess, but we just have to make the best we can of the situation." George replied calmly, and without further ado he strode into room 13 with his twin brother.

Hermione glanced across at Ron. He was drooping in his chair looking incredibly unhappy. She squeezed his hand. "What do you think?" she said

Ron looked up, and Hermione could see his eyes were red from crying. "About what?"

The sound of his voice, sounding so terribly sad, made Hermione's heart shrivel inside. "Well, do you think Bill and Charlie are still with your mother, or do you think something's happened to them?"

"I don't know." He replied glumly. "You're the clever one. What do you think?"

"I'm scared, Ron. I'm scared for Harry and Ginny. I'm scared for your mother. I'm scared for your father. I'm scared for Bill and Charlie. I'm scared for Fred and George."

A creaking noise sounded on the stairs, and they realised that footsteps approached.

"And I'm scared for us, Ron."

* * *

The twins rounded a corner, and found themselves faces three identical doors. 

"You take this one, I'll take that one," Fred said, pointing to two of them. "We'll meet out here in a few minutes, and if neither of us finds anything, we'll go in the third one together. I don't know about you, but there's something weird about this place. Something not quite right. I'm not even sure if we're in the right place…"

George shrugged and entered the door furthest to the left, shutting it carefully behind him. He turned around and gasped. "Fred?" he asked incredulously.

He had entered an office, with cluttered bookshelves covering most of the walls, and a desk crammed in between. It was the figure sitting behind the desk that George was so surprised to see.

His brother stood up awkwardly and gave him a little bow. "What the hell?!" George questioned- there was something odd about this Fred. Then he realised. He and Fred were identical twins, but like all identical twins, they weren't one hundred percent identical. Fred had a tiny freckle on his nose, but George didn't. And standing before him was Fred minus freckle. It wasn't Fred at all; it was himself, he was sure of it. Some weird kind of carbon copy of himself, and it was scary. They were identical apart from the clothes they were wearing and the glazed look in the copy's eyes.

George turned around, reaching for the door handle, but it was gone. It had fallen off the door and onto the floor. His copy started chuckling as George frantically tried to reattach it and get the hell out of there, but with and without magic his efforts had no avail. He turned around again, to see that his copy was now alarmingly close, and holding a knife already red with someone else's blood. George's eyes widened and he looked around for something to fight with. His eyes fell on the metal nameplate on the desk, reading his own name in menacing gold letters. He grabbed it and was soon locked in combat with himself.

The nameplate was a good weapon; soon he had knocked the knife out of his opponent's hand. But still with no way out, that simply wasn't good enough. He pulled out his wand, but every spell he cast was defended or reflected back at him, and soon he was dodging his own spells.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fred had entered the room next door, and gasped at what he saw. "George?" he asked incredulously. 

He had entered an office, with cluttered bookshelves covering most of the walls, and a desk crammed in between. It was the figure sitting behind the desk that Fred was so surprised to see.

His brother stood up awkwardly and gave him a little bow. "What the hell?!" Fred questioned- there was something odd about this George. Then he realised. He and George were identical twins, but like all identical twins, they weren't one hundred percent identical. Fred had a tiny freckle on his nose, but George didn't. And standing before him was George plus freckle. It wasn't George at all; it was himself, he was sure of it. Some weird kind of carbon copy of himself, and it was scary. They were identical apart from the clothes they were wearing and the glazed look in the copy's eyes.

Fred turned around, reaching for the door handle, but it was gone. It had fallen off the door and onto the floor. His copy started chuckling as Fred frantically tried to reattach it and get the hell out of there. It was a weird laugh, and Fred turned round to get a better look at the other person in the room. He was alarmed to find that his copy was now even closer, and holding a knife already stained with blood. At last he got the handle to fit the door and sped out, slamming it behind him, but not before the knife went whizzing through the door, narrowly missing his shoulder.

He stood, panting, for a moment, and then he decided he had to find George. Picking up the knife, he braced himself, and then yanked open the door through which his brother had entered.

A curious sight met his eyes. He was in an identical office to the one next door, and before him, locked in combat, was his brother and… his brother. Two Georges, equally matched, looking exactly the same, apart from their clothes. Fred struggled to remember what George had been wearing, but try as he might, that was not his area of expertise.

"Help me Fred!" screamed one of them, who was being attacked by the other with a metal nameplate bearing the name George Weasley. Without thinking, he threw the knife he was holding, and it slammed into the chest of the attacker. He crumpled to the ground, and the other turned to Fred and cackled.

"Thank you for taking care of your brother for me, Fred!" he said slyly. Fred was angry.

"George, this is no time to play games, we have to go and find the others!"

"I am not George. George is there." He pointed at the floor, where the limp figure of Fred's brother lay, unmoving.

Fred's eyes widened, and he started to shake. "No, no, no! George, stop it! Just stop it!"

The boy standing before him seemed to crumble before his eyes, and soon all that was left was a pile ash on the floor.

Fred gasped and crawled over to his brother, his brother who he had thrown a knife at. He rolled George over, crying out as he saw the knife still trapped between two of George's ribs. He ripped George's shirt off to get a better look at the knife wound, and carefully eased the knife out, pressing the shirt down on the wound to stop too much blood escaping. He sat and cried like this, wondering what on earth he could possibly do, and was just standing up to try and find help when the door slammed shut loudly, with such force that the handle flew off, hit the desk and smashed into a hundred tiny pieces.

* * *

Earlier that morning, Arthur Weasley had arrived at the Ministry, not quite knowing what to expect. What he found waiting for him was a tall man wearing all black and a menacing look on his face. 

"We were wondering when you'd arrive, Arthur Weasley." He said. His voice was gruff, unkind. "Follow me."

Arthur did what he, said following in silence. There was an unspoken tension between the two men, and Mr Weasley was almost glad when they reached a dull grey door which seemed to mark the end of their journey. He was less pleased, however, when he heard what the men inside had to say to him.

"I'll be brief, Weasley," said Laurence Nubale, who was about as far up in the ministry as you could get without being the Minister of Magic. "Although your daughter has already become of age, she disappeared from her cell this morning, and as her father, we now need to hold you accountable for her actions until justice can be served. She is charged with the manslaughter of a child, as you probably know, as is her partner, Harry Potter, who I understand is a regular at the Weasley… er… estate. Now, one of the members of the Muggle police, name Darren Riser I believe, went to give them breakfast. He didn't return for quite a while, and so a man named Officer Harshall went to see if everything was all right. It most certainly wasn't. The two prisoners were no where to be see, and Riser was dead on the floor. He had no visible marks on his body whatsoever; therefore it is obvious magic was used. Therefore your daughter is now charged of manslaughter, murder, and of breaking out of a prison cell. Your name is a disgrace to the Ministry, Weasley, and therefore we have no choice but to bid you farewell; you are no longer wanted here. We suggest you find your daughter and her boyfriend quickly, and then maybe the charges you have to answer to won't be so great."

But Arthur Weasley was no longer listening. Around the bit in Nubale's 'brief' speech saying that his name was a disgrace to the Ministry, he had sunk to the floor in a dead faint.

The man who had met him when he entered the ministry picked him up and flung him unceremoniously over one shoulder. He took him back to the entrance and lay him down next to the fountain, not trying to wake him up or help him in any way.

* * *

A few minute later, Bill and Charlie were escorted into the Ministry, by two guards not unlike Arthur's. They were too distraught about their own situation, however, to notice their father's limp body lying next to the fountain. 

"You will have a trial at twelve o'clock, boys," one of the guards told them. They started to protest, but he shushed them. "You will stay with your father in his department until then." The boys relaxed slightly.

* * *

When they reached the Department for Misuse of Muggle Artefacts, the guards left them alone and Bill and Charlie swung open the door, eager to hear what was going on with Harry and Ginny, and grateful that with their dad on their side they might at least have a chance of sorting these mysterious circumstances out once and for all. 

The first thing they noticed when they greeted their father, who was sitting at his desk, was that his eyes were strangely glazed.

* * *

_Author notes: Well, I hope that chapter more than made up for a lack of update recently! Did I say recently?! Nearly half a year! But what a way to end a chapter! I've ended with cliffies before, but never five in the same chapter! I feel like a devil child! Be sure to let me know what you think of this chapter. Have my writing skills gone rusty after being down in my pit all this time of have they gotten better? And is there anything you would like me to improve, or include in the story? From now on, it's all about you guys, and I don't want to let you down. For the moment, I'm just going to concentrate on this story, and then continue with another once I'm done. SO please, please review, it means the world to me! -Georgina-_


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